Eye For An Eye 2: Blind Vengeance review by Bobby Blakey
Well Go USA continues to be the top tier distributor for the Asian film market, most notably the martial arts genre. In 2022 they unleashed the martial arts film Eye for An Eye: The Blind Swordsman to much success. Now the blind samurai is back for Eye For An Eye 2: Blind Vengeance once again starring Xie Miao as “Cheng Xiazi” and writer/director Bingjia Liu once again at the helm. Could the next chapter of this martial arts series bring the sword wielding fun once again or will it fail to see its way to more success?
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Eye For An Eye 2: Blind Vengeance follows a young girl who vows revenge and turns to the Lieutenant, a blind but highly skilled bounty hunter after her little brother is murdered by a sadistic, well-connected government official. Though he refuses to help the child exact vengeance and become a murderer herself, the Lieutenant grudgingly lets her stay in exchange for help with daily tasks. But when the girl suddenly vanishes, the bounty hunter goes on a furious rampage through the city in a desperate attempt to locate the child before it’s too late.
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I really dug the first film that brought a simple premise and some great martial arts action. The idea which looks to take on some elements of the classic Zatoichi lends itself to not only great action but unique styles due to his blindness as well as many new stories. That being said, I was pretty stoked to get to join Miao and Liu on another adventure and it was worth the wait.
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This follow-up feature brings all the same fun to the mix with a slightly different tone that makes it feel like something all its own. You can watch
this one without seeing the first film as the only real connection is that of Xiazi himself. The addition of the kid in the story brings a lighter tone in some ways as we get to see the drunken gruff of a warrior open himself up to this kid desperate for vengeance and belonging. It’s a dysfunctional relationship that allows varying depth for our blind warrior that you didn’t see in the first film.
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Even with the lighter side we get to see here the film is still firmly planted in chaos. The villain of sorts here is a horrible person and one that will give you a creepy vibe in varying ways, reminding you that the path this kid is on is truly dangerous and one that must be resolved. Every time the guy comes on screen, he does something to remind you how horrible he is and is played to perfection to make him someone you can’t wait to meet his end.
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Once again, the film offers some awesome martial arts action that I think is even better than the first film. It felt more chaotic and fast paced this time around and some of the fast cut aways make it hard to see at times, but thankfully there is still plenty front and center to make up for it. They get even more creative this time around complete with fire wielding swords that was one of my favorites of the film. The kid even gets in on the action in a way that you can buy into and feeds into the story at hand.
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The film has a pretty finite ending to this story, but I would be lying if I said I wouldn’t love to see more stories with the blind swordsman. Whether we get any or not, these two films deliver on the action and are great additions to the genre and worth checking out.
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Decide for yourself and check out Eye for an Eye 2: Blind Vengeance when it hits Blu-ray and DVD on March 4th as well as checking out both films streaming now on Hi-Yah!